-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Sporting an all-black racing suit , Bubacarr Jallow kneels next to his bright red motorcycle to check its oil levels and make sure the nuts and bolts are tightened properly . Satisfied , he hops on his Yamaha AG100 and hits the bumpy dirt road , weaving his way through rugged tracks and treacherous terrain .

Being able to ride along narrow trails and carry out maintenance checks on a motorbike are not talents most health workers in the world need to possess , but for Jallow these skills are crucial .

As a community health nurse , he relies on his two-wheeled companion to reach the isolated villages dotting the Combo Central region in The Gambia , West Africa .

In an area where lack of roads and unreliable transport would typically force patients to spend several hours reaching the nearest clinic on foot or by bicycle , Jallow 's durable bike allows him to navigate through the bush to deliver life-saving treatment and health advice to rural communities .

Armed with a medical kit , his routine motorbike round includes visits to at-risk pregnant women and malnourished children . He checks them for any warning signs and , if needed , refers them to the nearest health center . He also distributes mosquito bed nets and food supplements and educates locals about life-threatening diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS .

Jallow says all this would n't be possible without Riders for Health -LRB- RFH -RRB- , a social enterprise working to transform healthcare delivery across rural Africa and provide outreach health workers with the transport they need .

The UK-based group says it manages a fleet of more than 1,400 motorcycles , ambulances and other trekking vehicles in seven African countries , reaching about 12 million people .

It trains African health workers to drive safely on difficult terrain and teaches them how to carry out simple maintenance checks on their vehicles on a daily basis . In addition , it ensures that there is a reliable supply chain of spare parts , while a network of local RFH-employed technicians services all bikes and cars monthly to make sure they do n't break down .

`` I received this motorcycle four years ago when it was brand new and I have ridden until now over 50,000 kilometers , '' says Jallow , whose work covers more than 10,000 people in 13 villages .

`` Since I got my motorcycle I have been getting my regular supply of fuel and my motorcycle is being serviced regularly , '' he adds . `` All of this is towards my services within my community within the past four years , so actually it -LSB- RFH -RSB- has contributed immensely towards the successful implementation of my activities within my circuit . ''

Millions of lives are lost needlessly every year from easily preventable and treatable diseases across sub-Saharan Africa , according to the World Health Organization . It estimates that some 12,000 children in the continent die daily from illnesses and conditions such as pneumonia , diarrhea , measles , malaria and malnutrition .

In many cases , the vaccines and medicines required for treatment are available but fail to reach the millions of people in need due to unreliable transport .

That 's what prompted British racing journalist Barry Coleman and his wife Andrea to put RFH together . It all began after Barry visited Somalia in the late 1980s , where he observed scores of new-looking motorbikes and other vehicles lying broken because of poor maintenance . At the same time , he saw first hand the risks posed to mothers and children due to failed healthcare delivery .

`` Barry came back and said there are children in rural communities who really need to be reached because they need immunizations ; women are dying in childbirth and then 30 , 20 , 10 miles away in ministry of health car parks there are motorcycles and ambulances that are simply broken because nobody has been trained to repair them , there 's no supply chain of parts , there 's no knowledge of transport maintenance , '' remembers Andrea , a mother of three and former motorcycle racer .

`` We said , well , we 've got a young family , we 've got a mortgage but we really believe in this , '' she adds . `` It made us angry , actually , that women and children are dying in rural Africa simply because an old technology like a motorcycle or an ambulance with this internal combustion engine ca n't be managed -- well , that 's ridiculous , that is crazy . ''

The two life-long motorcycle enthusiasts made several more trips to Africa and eventually founded RFH in 1996 . The award-winning group , which today has some 300 staff across Africa , raises funds at bike events and auctions as well as from charging the governments , agencies and NGOs it works with a not-for-profit fee for its services .

RFH says its work has enabled outreach health professionals to see nearly six times more people and spend double the time with their patients . They can also hold about 3,500 extra health-education meetings a month across the continent .

Moreover , the group has introduced a motorcycle courier service that speeds up the diagnosis and monitoring of patients suffering from TB or HIV and enables them to start treatment early . In one year , RFH says , mobilized health workers have transported more than 400,000 medical samples and test results between rural health centers and labs .

Andrea says the wellbeing of rural communities changes dramatically once they get regular access to health services .

`` We have shown that the maintenance of vehicles is absolutely critical if you are going to be able to solve the health issues of rural Africa , '' says Andrea . `` And also we 've shown how transport can be run cost-effectively and how local people really benefit when they are trained to a high standard to be technicians because it provides employment in the communities . ''

In their mid-60s now , the Colemans are still as passionate about improving access to healthcare as they were when they first started RFH .

`` What gets me up in the morning is the idea that health workers who are very highly trained -- women and men living across Africa -- really want to get out to their rural communities and make sure that they are healthy , '' says Andrea . `` They ca n't do that by walking and it makes me really angry that there is n't more emphasis on making sure that transport runs properly . ''

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Riders for Health provides motorbikes to improve health care in rural Africa

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The group manages over 1,400 motorcycles and other vehicles in seven African countries

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Local technicians maintain the vehicles so they do n't break down

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RFH bikers transport medical samples and test results between rural clinics and labs